School shooting hits close to home for Senator
Florida resident Anderson helping students take their minds off last month’s tragedy
In his job as a goaltender, Craig Anderson has a pretty good glove hand.
Next week, he’ll use it to lend a helping hand.
When the Ottawa Senators visit the Florida Panthers on Monday at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., Anderson will take a pause from his netminding duties to help his community in the healing process.
A mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Feb. 14 in nearby Parkland that left 17 dead and many others injured hit home with the Senators goaltender because his family lives there. Eventually, his young children will attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
With the tragedy in mind, Anderson and Senators captain Erik Karlsson have invited two hockey teams from the school to attend Monday’s game against the Panthers so they can have a few hours’ respite from it all.
The competitive hockey team at Marjory Stoneman Douglas just won the Florida state championship and the school also has a second team that will be part of the group on hand to see the Senators and Panthers play.
“We’re going to meet up with them before the game and we’ve got them tickets to the game,” Anderson told Postmedia Thursday night before making the start in a home game against the Buffalo Sabres.
While Anderson’s family — wife Nicholle along with sons Jake, 6, and Levi, 4 — usually accompany him to Ottawa, the decision was made to stay in Florida this winter with the kids starting school in August and a first-half schedule that had the Senators spending a lot of time on the road.
When Anderson first heard of the shooting, the news sent shivers through him.
“That’s our neighbourhood and 10 years from now, my kids are going to be at that school,” Anderson said. “All the hockey guys who have ever played for the Florida Panthers have pretty much lived in Parkland. That’s where all their kids and all our kids have all kind of been: in that community.
“It affects all of us.”
As a parent, Anderson’s heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy.
“Your heart stops,” he said. “Your heart goes out (to everybody) because anybody who has kids will know that they’re irreplaceable. You can’t just flip a switch and have another one. Your life changes when you have kids and anyone who has kids knows that.
“I think everybody in that whole town, their heart stopped until they found their child was OK, but at the same time you feel for the parents that have to go and bury their child. It’s not something that any parent should ever have to go through.”
The hockey community has reached out to Parkland since the incident.
As they prepared to go to the national championships, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas hockey team was skating at the BB&T Center recently when the NHL surprised the club by bringing in the Stanley Cup.
Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere, who attended the school as a youth, met with the hockey team, signed autographs and helped the kids think about something other than what happened on that awful day.
Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, a Parkland resident, gave an emotional speech before their home game Feb. 23. His poignant words brought tears to many eyes as he talked about the bravery of the people involved in the incident.
“What he did was outstanding,” said Anderson, who skates with Luongo in the summer in nearby Coral Springs. “For him to have the courage to stand up in front of 20,000 people and grab the microphone and speak is a credit to him and his confidence to string words together.
“It’s tough for me to stand in public and express my feelings. It was an emotional night for him and he was able to step up to do it for the community.”
Karlsson and Anderson are hoping their gesture can provide an emotional break for the school teams’ players.
Last year, Anderson noted that when Nicholle was going through her treatment for a rare form of throat cancer, being at the rink was a good opportunity to get his mind off what was happening at home.
“Our goal is to give them a glimpse of positivity in their lives,” Anderson said. “They’ve gone through a lot and it helps to get your mind away from it when you focus on something else.
“I went through it when Nicholle went through the whole cancer battle last year. Coming to the rink was kind of a refreshing break from reality and if we can give that to them, even if it’s just for one night, just to give them that glimpse of positivity away from reality and put a smile on their face for one day, it’s better.”
It might be just another game on the calendar during a busy NHL season, but it’s a night that could mean a lot to the kids from Marjory Stoneman Douglas who are on hand.
“If we can have one night where the kids can get away, it’s a plus,” Anderson said.
That’s our neighbourhood and10years fromnow,my kids are going to be at that school . ... It affects us all. CRAIG ANDERSON, Ottawa Senators goaltender